Dissertation Research: The Technological and Social Dimensions of the Mallorcan Copper Age Metallurgy

在Ruth Tringham博士的指导下，Christopher Hoffman先生将为他的博士论文收集数据。他将研究位于西班牙马略卡岛的一系列考古遗址中的铜制品，这些遗址可追溯到铜器时代（约公元前2500年至1800年）。通过一系列分析，他将试图确定生产金属的矿石是在哪里开采的，是否在当地冶炼，各种各样的物品是如何制造的，它们是如何使用的，以及它们是如何以及为什么被处理的。为了实现这一目标，他将对当地矿床的含铜矿石进行化学和铅同位素分析，试图定义化学特征，然后将这些特征与文物本身的特征进行匹配。冶金分析将阐明制造技术，显微检查磨损痕迹将提供对物体如何使用的洞察。霍夫曼先生希望了解技术与社会变革之间的关系。冶金并非起源于马略卡岛，而是从东地中海扩散到该地区。虽然我们大致知道铜制工具最早出现在岛上的时间，但对这种非常基本的技术变革对社会组织的影响却知之甚少。这种特殊的情况很有趣，因为考古学家认为马略卡岛和西班牙社会的大部分地区基本上没有受到影响。然而，由于在岛上发现的各种各样的人工制品以及它们被发现的各种考古背景，霍夫曼先生不这么认为，他希望重建这些物品是如何制造和使用的。这项研究之所以重要，有几个原因。它将为许多考古学家提供感兴趣的数据，并增加我们对马略卡史前史的了解。它还将阐明社会和技术变革之间的复杂关系，并将协助培训有前途的年轻科学家。

Under the direction of Dr. Ruth Tringham, Mr. Christopher Hoffman will collect data for his doctoral thesis. He will study copper artifacts from a series of archaeological sites which are located on the Spanish island of Mallorca and which date to the Copper Age (from approximately 2500 to 1800 BC). Through a series of analyses he will attempt to determine where the metal producing ore was mined, whether it was smelted locally, how the wide range of objects were fabricated, how they were used, and how and why they were disposed of. To accomplish this he will conduct chemical and lead isotope analyses of copper bearing ores from local deposits, attempt to define chemical signatures and then match these signatures to those of the artifacts themselves. Metallurgical analysis will shed light on manufacturing techniques and microscopic examination for traces of wear will provide insight into how the objects were used. Mr. Hoffman wishes to understand the relationship between technological and social change. Metallurgy did not originate on Mallorca but diffused to the region from the Eastern Mediterranean. While it is known approximately when copper tools first appeared on the island much less is understood about the effects which this very basic technological change had on social organization. This particular situation is interesting because archaeologists have argued that Mallorcan and much of Spanish society was basically unaffected. Because however of the wide variety of artifact types found on the island and because of the varied archaeological contexts in which they were recovered, Mr. Hoffman believes otherwise and he wishes to reconstruct how these objects were manufactured and used. This research is important for several reasons. It will provide data of interest to many archaeologists and increase our understanding of Mallorcan prehistory. It will also shed light on the complex relationships between societal and technological change and will assist in the training of a promising young scientist.